Home
by SkullFaerie
Summary: Right at that moment, in his arms, she knew she found something better than a fairy tale. Another collaborative piece lovingly presented to you by the SkullxFaerie crew.
1. Story 1

**Introduction:** This is a 3-part short collaboratively written by arcangelus, emochinchillia, forgottendiary, nickelwit, and steshin with the theme "Home" inspired by this image: i22. photobucket. com/albums /b301/steshin /present.jpg (cut and paste to your browser without the spaces).

**Story 1  
Contributed by: arcangelus, emochinchillia, forgottendiary, nickelwit, steshin**

Sheryl frowned discontentedly from behind her blindfold as she listened to the low hum of the car's engine over the empty chatter of the radio. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently against the car's floor.

"Saotome Alto!" She snapped, "How much longer will you keep me in the dark about this great surprise of yours!"

"Just wait, just wait...it'll be quick." he swore under his breath as the light turned red, but periliously turned anyways, barely missed by the incoming traffic, received a chain of angry honks, all done with only one hand on the wheel.

Just because he made a name as the legendary VF pilot, he now thinks he can drive virtually everything.

Of course, Sheryl would be quick to disagree if she wasn't blindfolded.

True to his words, it wasn't very long before they reached their destination.

True to his words, it wasn't very long before they reached their destination.

Sheryl found herself being carefully led from the car by his gentle hands. The blindfold slipped away; she gasped seeing the view from high upon one of Frontier's observation decks.

Sheryl gasped in awe at the sight before her. She turned to Alto, standing beside her, beaming.

"It's just like before--on our date!"

"Ah." Alto confirmed with a smirk, stuffing his hands inside his pockets.

Her fingers curled around the cool metal beams as she took in a deep breath.

"So Alto," Sheryl craned her head to look at him from the corner of her eyes. "Is this a date too?"

"I just thought you...we needed a break."

_And if I can use that as an excuse for a date..._

He smiled inwardly at the thought.

...but he did not realize that he somehow voiced the words out no matter how low.

"Oh?" A brow went up as Sheryl walked closer to a blushing Alto.

A pair of slender arms rested on either of his shoulders.

She inched closer, lips edging on Alto's ear.

Then she whispered, "will this date end with you bringing me home?"

Alto let out a startled sound as he broke away from her contact. Sheryl was laughing gleefully at him. "Silly Alto!"

"Damn you, Sheryl!" He barked.

"Ah well," tossing her hair, she regarded him with a look of amusement and conceit. "I doubt you had the balls to do something like that.

"Na--!"

He was supposed to be used to these kind of comments from her, he told himself. And yet, he couldn't grow out of them as if they were already terms of...endearment.

"But Alto," she smiled at him before returning her gaze on the scenery.

"Thank you, for showing me this."

Sheryl paused as she absorbed all the details she could.

"Frontier has been my home, and all of these..." Sheryl held out her hands, "...reminds me of what is at stake; of what I, you, and everyone else has to protect."

She gave Alto a determined look, pointing at him as she did.

"That's why Alto, do your damn best as a pilot because I'll sing to the death if I have to!"

For a moment, Alto was taken aback. Then his face softened and a smile broke.

"Yeah."


	2. Story 2

**Introduction:** This is a 3-part short collaboratively written by arcangelus, emochinchillia, forgottendiary, nickelwit, and steshin with the theme "Home" inspired by this image: i22. photobucket. com/albums /b301/steshin /present.jpg (cut and paste to your browser without the spaces).

**Story 2  
Contributed by: nickelwit**

Alto's hands pulled away and Sheryl found herself gazing into the interior of the shack-like structure that Alto built from the temporary housing kit. Outwardly it was identical to the hundreds distributed to other colonists eager to sleep under a real sky rather than remain on the ships waiting for buildings to be constructed.

It was furnished with repurposed bits of his shattered Valkyrie. A landing strut was his clothing rack. The ejector seat was only mildly scorched and sat across from a folding cot. She knew recycling was ingrained into every Frontier citizen, but this was almost to the extreme...

Alto gestured a padlock hanging from a SMS emblazoned ammo chest in the far corner. "To keep your stuff safe," A blush rose to his cheeks. "I mean ummm if you want to visit again...instead of carrying things back from the ships...you know easier to leave some stuff instead of...," he stammered. "Wait, no, I can just go to your..."

"You're supposed to say Okaeri-nasai," Sheryl whispered with a smile before silencing him with a kiss.


	3. Story 3

**Introduction:** This is a 3-part short collaboratively written by arcangelus, emochinchillia, forgottendiary, nickelwit, and steshin with the theme "Home" inspired by this image: i22. photobucket. com/albums /b301/steshin /present.jpg (cut and paste to your browser without the spaces).

**Story 3  
Contributed by: steshin **

_When Sheryl was a young girl, she had always dreamt of living in a palace fit for a princess with roses and princes. She had always thought of herself as the little matchgirl who, just like her, wandered around in the cold nights in misery. Needy and lonely..._

_She grew up wishing to be a different kind of character like Cinderella or Snow White. Any kind of beautiful character would do--just not the little matchgirl._

_Her wish did come true._

_Her fairy Godmother, Grace O'Connor came to her, offering her hand with promises of dreams come true. Sheryl reached out for her hand and she became Cinderella. No longer did she wear rags and blisters but dresses of fine silk and satin. Princes bowed down to her, awaiting her every whim and asking for dances. Her world became colored with fanciful images and lyrics. _

_She met her Prince--who looked more like a princess, and fell in love with him._

_But then the clock struck midnight. _

_Suddenly, no longer was she Cinderella but Snow White facing her evil stepmother. Sheryl ran away from her wrath and found herself in the arms of her Prince. _

_At that moment, she was happy. Content with his warmth...only to realize that he only held pity for her and was in love with another princess._

_Sheryl then felt like the Little Mermaid._

_Suffering from love unrequieted, Sheryl bottled all her pain and anguish into her heart and fled away from him._

_She was back to being the little matchgirl. Back to the loneliness and pain with no one to call her own._

_Sheryl felt herself succumb to the cold and whispering words of despair, sinking slowly to death..._

_When she looked up, she found her Prince, holding a glass slipper in a form of a gleaming earring..._

"--Open your hands."

"Honestly Alto, what's this about?!" A temporarily blind Sheryl asked as Alto covered her eyes with a hand.

"No questions, just do it."

"Fine, fine! Geez..."

She heard a jingle, then she felt something cold press against her palms.

Without seeing, she knew it was a key.

Alto withdrew his hand for Sheryl to see the front door of their new home.

He smiled. "Well, what do you think?"

Sheryl held back the tears and reached out for his hand. With tenderness in a shaky voice, she said,

"Better than any fairy tale."


End file.
